DLP (Digital Light Processing) projectors works in similar ways to a lot of other micro display devices. A high output lamp creates white light that is then sent onto a color wheel. This color wheel separates the three basic colors of light, red, blue and green. That light is then sent into a small computer chip, called the DMD (Digital Micromirror Device). From there the hundreds of thousands of tiny mirrors inside the DMD reflect the colors back out to the screen to create whatever image is being displayed.

Since the white light itself cannot create the color picture, a device must be employed that can. That is where the spinning color wheel comes in. Simply put, the color wheel is a series of green, red and blue color filters that spins in front of the lamp to create the basic colors over and over again in very rapid succession. This creates red, blue and green light and directs it into the DMD.

The DMD is a device create by Texas Instruments and it is a small silicon chip with hundreds of thousands tiny mirrors. These mirrors have two positions, basically on and off. In the on position they reflect the light out onto the screen through the lens, and in the off position they don't. This happens thousands of time per second, which is why we don't see it with the naked eye.

For the shades of colors between the three primary colors, white or grey, it's all about the timing. The DMD will display the appropriate color for varying lengths of time, depending on the shade required. The shorter the period of time, the lighter the shade the human eye will see. For shades of grey and white all the colors are displayed, but white requires each color to be displayed for a longer period of time than grey. When talking about timing, we are talking amount milliseconds, so that the human eye doesn't notice the change in colors. All the light is then sent through the projector lens and then onto the screen.

While this is still advanced technology it is the least technically complicated when compared to other types of projectors. It also doesn't have as sharp a resolution as other types of projectors. One advantage to DLP projectors is that they are often more cost effective than other types of projectors. They are also well suited to working for long periods of time, since they don't require being turned off to cool, unlike LCD projectors, which need to be turned off periodically to avoid overheating.